When John Kilner invented the Kilner jar, his intentions were to create a jar that successfully preserved and pickled fruit and vegetables. Over 100 years on and it doesn’t cease to amaze us how many uses everyone at home has found for them, from storing baking ingredients to Kilner jar lights!

One of our favourite uses for a Kilner jar is dessert in a Kilner jar… Yum! This lemon and white chocolate cheesecake recipe is from the lovely folks over at Silver Mushroom and you can see their original post on their blog here.

We tried this recipe and had to share it, it tastes divine and it’s a no-bake cheesecake too!

Ingredients

For the base

15 Digestive Biscuits

75g Butter

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

For the filling

500g mascarpone cheese

100ml double cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 lemons juiced and zested

50g grated white chocolate

Extra grated white chocolate to decorate.

Method

1. Put the digestives in a clear sandwich bag and bash down with a rolling pin until the biscuits are a fine crumble. Add 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar and mix together.2. Melt the butter and mix into the biscuit mix until it is moist and slightly sticky. It does not have to stick together in a lump at this point.3. Spoon the cheesecake base mixture evenly between the Kilner jars and press down well. Put the jars in the fridge to chill.4. Combine the mascarpone with the cream and sugar and whip well for a couple of minutes. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and whip well again for about 1 minute. Add the grated chocolate and whip again for a further minute. (At this point, it may be an idea to taste the cheesecake filling to see if you want to add any more sugar or lemon.)5. Spoon the cheesecake filling mixture on top of the chilled biscuit bases up to the rim of the Kilner jars. Top the finished cheesecakes with grated white chocolate and close the clip top lid. Put in the fridge and chill for a couple of hours and you’re done.

We’re cheerleaders for love and Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to show someone you love how much you care. We always say home made is better than anything you can buy from a shop, and Valentine’s Day is definitely an occasion to get crafty and make something special and personalised for your loved one.

Here are some instructions on how to make easy home made glitter jars. Fill to the brim with things they love and watch them smile as they open it!

Red heart jar

Clean the surface of a 1 litre preserve jar with a dry cloth.

Cover the jar in PVA glue leaving a large heart shape at the front unglued.

Sprinkle red glitter all over the jar until covered.

Gently shake off any excess glitter.

N.B. depending on how quickly the glue you are using dries steps 2 & 3 may need to be in stages.

Small pink stripe jar

Clean the surface of a 228ml twist top jar with a dry cloth.

Wrap some 5mm double sided sticky tape horizontally around the top of the jar to create a stripe.

Leave a 5mm gap and repeat step 2.

Repeat steps 2 & 3 to the bottom of the jar.

Peel back the paper from the double sided tape.

Sprinkle pink glitter on to the double sided tape until covered.

Gently shake off any excess glitter.

Red stripe jar

Clean the surface of a 0.5 litre preserve jar with a dry cloth.

Using some 7mm double sided sticky tape create a vertical stripe from the top to the bottom of the jar.

The Kilner jar was invented in the 1800’s, originally for preserving and pickling fruit and vegetables. Over 100 years on and Kilner jars are still used to make everyone’s favourite jams, pickles and chutneys, but we’ve seen some new uses for Kilner jars which we love and wanted to share with you!

When things go wrong in the preserving process, they can go wrong badly! From runny jellies to over-set jams, we’ve seen it all, so we thought we’d share common preserving problems and give you a solution.

My preserve won’t set!

This is one of the most common problems when it comes to preserve making. A poor set can happen for a number of reasons; too much or too little sugar was used, an insufficient amount of pectin may have been used, the fruit used was either over ripe or under ripe or you may have cooked your mixture for too long.

But fear not, we can help you rectify your runny preserve!

Before you start you need to have a selection of sterilised Kilner jars available for re potting your jam once you have finished.

Empty the runny preserve back into your Kilner jam pan and try re-heating it. Bring it to boil whilst stirring it constantly to stop it from sticking, allow it to boil for 1 minute then re-test the set. If the set is now correct then re-pot and seal your Kilner jars.

If the set is still runny then try adding pectin; around half the amount that is indicated by your recipe. Be careful when adding your pectin as too much will leave you with a set that is too solid and can’t be rectified so always add less than you think is necessary and test the set and then add more if required. We recommend commercial pectin in either liquid or powder form for this process.

The set of your jam should be correct now so re-pot and seal.

My fruit has floated to the top of my preserve!

Unfortunately it is not possible to rectify this after the preserve has been potted and sealed but for future batches we advise you to let your preserve rest for 10 minutes once setting point has been reached. This will allow you to see if the fruit rises to the top, if it does, stir the preserve to redistribute the fruit and then pot immediately.

My preserve tastes burnt!

This will happen if your preserve has stuck to the bottom of the pan and burnt during boiling. To avoid this for the future stir your preserve constantly whilst bringing it to a rolling boil.

My preserve keeps getting darker!

If the colour of your preserve gets darker once it is stored this may be as a result of cooking the mixture for too long. Make sure to follow the recipes times exactly. This change in colour may also occur if the place you have stored your preserve is very bright or if it is very warm. It is important to store your preserve in a dark and cool location.

Oranges are only in season for another month or so, so make a delicious marmalade while they’re at their best! If sealed properly this marmalade will last months and months so it’s really worthwhile making and our recipe is super easy to follow too.

This marmalade tastes great on toast and crumpets but don’t be afraid to try something new and a bit different with your homemade marmalade. Marmalade makes a great glaze for roasted meats, try mixing it with Gran Marnier as a glaze for duck or mix with chipotle chillies for a spicy and sweet pork marinade. Whatever you do with your marmalade, tweet us @Kilner_UK and let us know how you use yours!

Ingredients

1kg Seville oranges

75ml lemon juice

2kg demerara sugar

Method

1. Wash the oranges then half them and juice them and keep the squeezed halves.

2. Slice the squeezed oranges into medium to thick pieces and place into a bowl along with the orange juice and 2.5L water. Leave the mixture to soak for 24 hours.

3. Pour the mixture into a Kilner jam pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 2 hours until the peel is soft and the marmalade has reduced.

4. Add in the sugar and lemon juice and mix well to dissolve the sugar

5. Boil for about 20 minutes until setting point has been achieved then remove from the heat.

6. Leave the marmalade to cool down for ten minutes then stir slowly to diffuse any foam from the top.

7. Pour the marmalade into warm sterilized Kilner jars and store in a cool dark place